Myth's End
by Dreambender
Summary: It began in darkness and it ends in darkness. Now,the Dark Knight is entasked to save his own life, but when the ghosts from his past are too much who will come to his aid? First fic ever Please review. 3rd chapter up now.
1. Chapter 1

Myth's End

By Joseph Potian and Gavin Chan

Chapter 1

It began in darkness. Yes in the shadow of the old buildings of crime alley, that's where it all began. And in darkness is also where it would end.

A dark figure stood on one of the gargoyles above the busy streets of Gotham. He was motionless, silent. He listened intently to the sounds around him. He just sat there like an animal on the prowl until finally he heard what he was waiting for.

"B, a woman near you just called for 911." A woman's voice came through from his intercom. "She says men are following her. GCPD's on their way but they probably won't make it."

"I'm on it, O." he answered back and without hesitation he leapt from the gargoyle's head. He glided through the haze of ebony around him with ancient grace. Like a bat. No, not a bat. He was not a bat. He was more than that. But he wasn't a man either. He was fear. The type of fear that could make you pee your pants at the sight of him. But he was also hope. The kind that could get you trough the biggest storm you're ever likely to see.

Batman grabbed his batgrapple from his belt. He quickly took aim and fired at a near by roof. He swung trough the alley ways silently until finally resting on top of a rooftop.

There was light coming from below him. A scarlet glow emanated from a pile of burning garbage. The light flickered in accord to the blowing wind as shadows of men danced to it.

He peered down to the alley below. A young woman, probably 16 years old batman thought, was surrounded by 5 men. Batman reacted quickly, descending to attack.

He fell on top of one of the men, knocking him out. The man to his right grabbed a pipe from the ground and charged at the dark knight.

Batman quickly blocked his assailant's attack and threw him into a pile garbage cans near by.

"It's the batman. Kill him." one of the men ordered. Two of the woman's attackers charged at the batman simultaneously.

Batman fell to the ground. He grabbed one of the trash cans by instinct and used it to take out both men.

_One last _he thought to himself.

The batman looked into the 5th man's eyes. There was no sign of fear. The 5th man held a magnum handgun tightly in his hand. He moved his index finger indicating he was ready to shoot. They had a standoff for what felt like eternity until batman made the first move. He threw a batarang in the direction of the 5th man.

The batarang sliced through the air. It sped towards the gunman. As it came close to hitting him the man tilted his head slightly to the right and the batarang missed its mark.

The man raised his hand and squeezed the trigger. A hot, piercing feeling shot into batman's chest. He fell to his knees gasping for air. And as the world darkened around him batman simply thought _well I had to miss sometime_.

It began in darkness and it ends in darkness.

The batman opened his eyes. There was still a throbbing pain in his chest. He found himself in some sort of cave. The sound of dripping water could be heard. And there was the smell of water in the air he noted. The batman picked himself up.

"Had nice dreams batman?" A young man in his twenties was sitting on a big rock nearby. The batman simply looked at him.

"Oh of course introductions: my name is Jozen Redbrew and you have just passed away."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All characters in the story, except for Jozen Redbrew are owned by DC comics. I apologize if there was no disclaimer in the 1st chapter.

It began in darkness and it had ended in darkness.

It had been a dark night, perhaps darker than most. Under the black and purple Gotham skyline a man ran. Under the tearing gaze of the gods he leapt from building to building, without fear or hesitation.

He was a shadow, moving swiftly like a wraith. He was undaunted by the obstacles that came his way. He was fueled by a cause, a cause to save his mentor.

He dove into the chasm of cement below him, his muscles knowing exactly what to do. He'd done this a million times before with his mentor and a million times more with his parents.

He launched a grappling hook into a near by storm drain and he swung into the next alley.

"O, where is he?" he spoke into a communicator in his ear.

"Just a few blocks from you" a woman's voice answered. "Nightwing, hurry! He might not make it."

"I know. I'm almost there." he answered hurriedly as he zipped by Gotham's buildings.

The Batman stared intently at the man who stood before him. He noted every detail about the man.

The man wore an opened, black hoody. Inside he wore a T-shirt with a darker shade of black. He wore jeans, sneakers and he held something shiny in his hand.

_A weapon perhaps,_ Batman thought.

"Who are you?" he asked furiously.

"Like I said I am Jozen Redbrew" the man answered calmly, paying no attention to the Batman's rudeness.

"Why have you brought me here?" batman asked again, not lowering the tone of his voice.

"I'm here to help you" Jozen explained "But you may look around if you wish to."

The batman scanned his surroundings. He wasn't in any place familiar. Bats hung to the walls around them and the ceiling above them. Slowly the Batman backed away from his unknown host until finally leading himself to the opening of the cave.

Jozen watched him walk away. The batman's cape followed behind him like a river of black ink.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a voice from behind Jozen said.

Behind him stood a tall pale woman. She had a very pleasant face though at the time she seemed angry. She wore a black tank top and around her neck hung an ankh.

"Nice to see you to" he responded, "But I think the real question is, why are you here?"

"I'm here for Bruce Wayne" Her expression showed that she was not in the mood for games.

"Well so am I" Jozen's face went grim. The very calm person earlier had been replaced by a serious man. He was almost frightening even to the woman in black.

"There are universal rules that state you can't interfere with death", she explained carefully. Deep down she knew nothing she said would get through to the young man. He was determined not to let Bruce Wayne die and that nothing was going to stop him.

"And until the day you replace me you still have to follow them."

She looked into his eyes and he looked into hers, both of them trying desperately trying to intimidate the other. It was no use.

"The world needs a Batman", he reasoned. She wasn't listening. Both of them were simply stubborn by nature. Jozen realized the futility of their conversation and sighed.

"Look, I'm a fair man. So what do you say we have a little wager?"

For a moment she seemed interested before reverting back to her old expression.

"If you can convince Bruce Wayne to give up his fight as Batman, using only your abilities as death then he's all yours. However if he decides to keep fighting regardless of what you show him then he's free to go."

She thought for a while before nodding in agreement.

"Great, your move"

Nightwing sat atop a building, gasping for air. He had cleared a good three miles of the city on foot. He was across the street from where Batman had been. He surveyed the area first before making his move. He pulled out a pair of binoculars from his stash of gadgets. From a distance he could see a faint flame illuminate the alley ahead.

The Batman's assailant had gone, back into the rat holes of Gotham city. The woman who had been attacked had still hung around, still uncertain of what had exactly happened. She sat down on the wet ground with her back to a wall and tears still pouring down her eyes.

After scanning for any lurking danger, Nightwing finally found it safe to approach his fallen mentor. Cautiously he swung to the other side of the road, into the dimly lit alleyway. He walked past the frightened woman half ignoring her and knelt down by the dark knight. He grabbed Batman's hand and tried to get a pulse.

Bruce's heart was beating irregularly. He was dying.

Nightwing pressed his earpiece and spoke through the intercom.

"O, tell Alfred to get the cave prepped up for surgery! B's in a lot of trouble."

The Batman slowly walked through the dark tunnel, leaving the mysterious young man behind. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn't an incredibly strong light, just a light. He approached it with utmost caution, as experience had taught him. Small dark tunnels like this were most likely to have a trap. But no traps came.

He reached the end of the tunnel. It led to a somewhat forested area. The detective quickly surveyed the surroundings and found it surprising to find himself at the grounds of Wayne Manor.

_That must have been another part of the caves_, he thought to himself.

Everything seemed peaceful, nothing out of the ordinary. He walked to the mansion at a relatively leisurely pace. The large wooden door leading into the mansion was shut and Bruce found it strange that Alfred had not been on the balcony tending to some of the plants there.

Slowly the Batman pushed the wooden doors open. All the lights had been shut off. Everything was agonizingly silent.

"Alfred!" the Batman shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed through the hollowed halls of Wayne Manor. No response came. Something was definitely wrong. The Batman felt it in his bones.

He slowly climbed up the flight of stairs in front of him, observing the shadows very carefully for any possible attackers.

He found nothing, but he could hear a faint whisper from the distance. He followed the sound to where it came from. The sounds came from his bedroom. The Batman could here familiar voices on the other side of the door.

_It couldn't be_, he thought to himself.

He reached for the door knob and turned it hesitantly. Slowly he pushed the door open. The hinges of the door creaked giving a suspenseful feel to what was happening.

Batman's eyes widened.

At the end of the room, on either side of the bed stood a dark haired couple.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Then the man spoke, "Welcome home Bruce, my son."

To any one reading this I'm sure you're wondering who the hell is Jozen Redbrew. He's just one of my own characters which I created.


	3. Chapter 3

Myth's End

Chapter 3

"Bruce." The man's voice was comfortingly familiar. The Batman looked up and in an instant that was not an instant, he changed. Where Batman, scourge of crime and corruption once stood, Bruce Wayne, now eight stood firmly in his place.

He was eight when it all started, the War. It would be proper if it ended then too.

Like an itch at the back of your throat, Bruce knew something was amiss. He just wasn't sure. Yet.

It was like reality, yet not reality.

Jozen Redbrew, the man who desperately sought to save the Dark Knight's life, watched impassively, hiding the feeling of unease that welled inside him. He began to play nervously with the silver trinket he held in between his fingers. Death had noticed the object earlier, but paid little attention to it.

It was small and dented on one side. And Jozen repeatedly shuffled it in his hand as it smoked and it burnt his palm. It was a bullet, recently fired. The same bullet that had just recently took out the defender of Gotham.

Jozen threw the bullet to his left hand to relieve his right which was now wounded and blistered. He had caught Death staring at him for a brief moment and had initially wondered why, but decided not to go into it.

The hooded man looked up at the ceiling above him. He began to reflect on his past and how he had met Death the first time.

He remembered her telling him of his destiny. He was the man who was, if not is, posed to be the next Death of the endless. He was told it was the way things would be and had always been. The cycle of things, after the destruction of everything in the world everything would be replaced, start anew.

He had declined full acceptance to stop the world from being ended and restarted, as the universe stated it should be. He loved the world too much, couldn't let go of the things he had come accustomed to. He couldn't' bear to see all those people die. He's just human after all.

He defied Death. He was about to do it again.

"You're not real! Just a figment of my imagination!" Bruce denied, while he was ripped apart between realities.

The adult Bruce fought against the changing, and the child Bruce fought just as valiantly. Reality was taking its toll. Tears began to well in his eyes. The strain was evident on the Dark Knight.

"Honey, relax" his mother coased.

Bruce's struggle slowed after hearing the soft voice of his mother. He had almost forgotten how his mother's voice sounded like, how every word she spoke made anyone feel good. He felt relieved to finally hear it again after all these years. It was like drinking from a clear pond after a long harsh journey through a merciless sandstorm. Yes, he felt relieved.

"Just let yourself be who you want to be" his father offered.

The changes suddenly stopped. Bruce finally settled as an adult in a long sleeved polo shirt "You're not real" he argued, if only halfheartedly.

His parents smiled.

Bruce decided to put up a more concrete argument.

"You're dead, both of you."

"Of course we are."

In that moment reality shifted once more. Bruce Wayne found himself a child, watching helplessly as his parents were murdered.

Crime Alley. Where it all began. In the darkness.

He choked from the tears that from his eyes. Still kneeling he tried to collect the pearls of his mother's necklace. Still crying, he swore to avenge their deaths.

Reality shifted once more.

"Mom! Dad!" the eight- year old Bruce ran into their outstretched arms. He continued to weep, but now they were no longer tears of sorrow and anguish. Now they were tears of joy.

Thomas Wayne began to explain what happened. "See son, you're dead too."

Bruce, still eight looked at him quizzically.

"You were shot in that horrid place" his mom added.

His father nodded. "But really you can still go back. To life, I mean."

The puzzled expression remained. His parents struggled to find the words to explain what they meant.

"You're half dead, in a coma in real life."

Bruce had fortunately accepted that this was not the reality he was used to. His eyes widened.

"So you can come back, or stay here with us. With us, together."

Reality, but not reality.

Nightwing, under the persona of Richard Grayson stood over the limp body of his mentor.

"Bruce" he said, tears beginning to overflow from his eyes. It was too much to bear. How can one man bear to see two father's die in one life time? It was too much.

Superman, still clad in his outfit, wore a worried look as he watched his friend and ally be operated upon. He clenched his fist and it shook from all the anger that was inside of him. He had heard Oracle's distress signal as he flew just outside of Gotham. He cursed himself for not getting to him sooner.

Robin, dressed as Tim Drake fought to stop himself from crying. He was losing.

Oracle, Barbara Gordon tried to console him. She had spent the last two minutes trying to find the words she'd use. She slowly wheeled toward her comrade. But as she reached out her hand to his shoulder she found that the words had left her. She withdrew her hand. Again she tried to find the words, but this time they did not come. There were no words that she could have said that would make a difference anyway.

Even Huntress was there. She held her golden cross to her heart as she began to pray. She would occasionally glance at his motionless body, lying on the operating table as the man Superman had called in, Dr. Midnight worked on him.

As soon as Nightwing got to the cave, he realized that Alfred's surgical skills weren't enough.

Huntress continued to weep. She had seen him like this many times. Once, in real life when Hush had first appeared. She was the one who had come to his rescue. Then, there were the many times she'd seen him like this in her head. She hated him for not approving of her methods and many times found herself pondering on what she would do if she ever found him broken again. She had thought she would be happy, even laughing to see him weak. But those thoughts only came from anger. Now, she couldn't even force herself to stop crying. She was guilty of thinking those thoughts. Again, she began to pray as she clasped her cross firmly in her hands.

Dr. Midnight operated on Bruce Wayne's bullet wound with skillful hands. He looked at the man's Kevlar vest then, turned his attention back to the more pressing matter at hand.

Barbara examined Bruce's Kevlar from afar. It had been ripped beyond recognition by the force of the bullet. _A magnum is a powerful gun_, she thought as she held the gunman's weapon in her hand. Nightwing had brought it back with him. He said the gunman left it at the scene. She had already checked it for prints. There was nothing.

She recalled how the same weapon ruined her life. Bruce was lucky. Without the Kevlar the bullet would have gone through and through. He wouldn't have survived long enough to make it to the cave.

_C'mon Bruce, we need you._

The child Bruce Wayne gave way to his older self. By now he had gotten used to the changes, the little wrinkles in this reality.

"Mother, Father, I-" he paused "I don't understand."

His mother smiled "Let me put it this way, you can move on to your greater reward."

"With us" his father interrupted, also smiling.

"Or you can go back to that dreadful life of yours, a life without reward or rest."

"A life without happiness or joy."

"Endless night's alone. You don't need to put what you want on hold anymore. You don't need to push those who want to get close to you away, fearing that they'll get hurt."

"You don't son." His mother finally said. "All you need to do is take my hand." She stretched her hand out for him to grab.

Dick Grayson's eyes widened as his mentor flat-lined.

Dr. Midnight gasped in surprise. _Damn it. He was stable just a minute ago. _

Tim Drake burst into tears. "N-no" he managed to say in between sobs.

Clark clenched his fist. "C'mon Bruce, you can do it."

"No."

His parents frowned. "What?" they said in unison.

"No"

Bruce stood up, "Mother, Father, I love you, but my time is yet to come. I still have a job to do."

"Bruce, it's okay. You can stop now. Our Death's have been avenged. It's over. Come with us." They said most convincingly.

The suit of the Dark Knight began to form around him as reality shifted once more. He stood there, the Batman, still unmasked. He smiled sadly, the kind of smile used to say goodbye.

He put his cowl over his head, and in a voice that resounded with fortitude that could scare criminals witless he said, "It stopped being about you along time ago." Then he turned and walked away.

"He's stable." Dr. Midnight said, still sweating from the rush.

Sighs of relief and tears of joy filled the room.

"Thank God"

"Tough luck" Jozen chided, now fully grinning, a Cheshire cat of sorts.

Death frowned slightly "I still have three more card to play."

"Better than his parents?" Jozen asked rather sarcastically.

"You could say so. Indeed you could…"

Jozen forced himself into a smile to show her that he was unafraid by her last statement. "Bring it on" the expression on his face had said, but deep inside him a feeling of dread began to rise. He knew that whatever was in store for the Dark Knight would be worse than his parents, however, he had hope. The Batman would pull through.

The Batman descended down the stairs of Wayne manor, his cape slowly followed him. He looked back. His parents were still standing in their place, still hoping he would change his mind. But he didn't.

He continued down the stairs to the door he had originally come in through. The Batman was unsure why he was heading this way, but he simply kept going. For a moment he stopped at the door. Eight-year old Bruce Wayne was trying to claw his way out. He wanted to look back again and simply run into his parent's arms. But finally he willed himself to open the heavy, wooden door. To his surprise the outside was no longer a garden. It was simply black like living shadows.

Slowly, he put one foot in front of the other and entered the darkness that lay before him. The creatures of ebony embraced him. He could no longer see. Only darkness remained. He faded into it as he allowed it to take him.

It began in darkness and it would end in darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Alone once more in the darkness, Bruce Wayne allowed himself to breathe

Alone once more in the darkness, Bruce Wayne allowed himself to breathe, to think

_I'm not dead. _He began in his mind, hoping to form an argument strong enough to convince himself, and realizing that there were no other statements he could add. No more facts he could wield. It occurred to him, once more, how much he hated magic. How much he hated things that he couldn't explain or do or overcome.

"I hate magic." He said, to no one in particular

"You know, Bruce, there seem to be many things you've been hating lately."

The voice was familiar. It was an old ally. An old friend.

Bruce Wayne's blood ran cold.

A blur of crimson and yellow.

A gust of inexplicable wind.

"Hey Bruce. How's kicks?" There was laughter in his voice. And peace.

"Barry." Bruce Wayne struggled to steady his voice.

Barry Allen. The Flash. The one-time fastest man alive.

"yeah, Bruce?"

"You're dead." He put it frankly, and braced himself for the reply.

"Well, so are you."

He took it hard, although if he knew it was coming.

And then he smiled. If bats smiled when they caught their prey, they would've looked a lot like he did, right then and there.

"Barry, my father told me I could come back. To living, I mean. Can I?"

Barry Allen looked uncomfortable.

"Bruce," He said, an old friend regarding another, "walk with me."

Barry Allen stood and turned and he was no longer in his flash outfit, but dressed in a plain white shirt and jeans.

Vaguely, Bruce Wayne realized that he wasn't wearing a black tuxedo five minutes ago.

But magic is a cruel thing, and no sooner did he realize then he forgot.

Slowly, he followed the man's brisk pace.

The night lifted and in its place there was a dessert.

"Bruce," Barry began "Our lives were never really alike. The tights aside, we were very different people."

Bruce Wayne looked him in the eye.

And Barry Allen did not meet his gaze.

"The tights made us one and the same."

"I was the Flash because I wanted to, I had to. Yours was a vendetta of vengeance."

"That never mattered."

"Yes it did, damn you. Yes it does!"

"You've been the Batman for as long as I can remember. You've fought evil and tyranny and injustice with every breath you took--

but in the end you're still dead."

"Barry, tell me how to go back." Bruce's voice was a little weak, but it resonated with the same steely determination

"What you do. What we did, it isn't about two people dead in a back alley. It's about life. And about virtue, and humanity."

Bruce Wayne rounded on him, and stared him straight in the eye

"The vendetta is ended, Barry, what I do, I do for the world."

"No, not really," Barry Allen stared at him, and his costume, his mask, started to ripple around and behind his face

"Barry, my work is undone, I haven't finished yet, and I intend to finish what I started."

The implication was not lost on the Flash.

"God, Bruce! I killed myself saving the world! Don't I deserve to rest?!"

"You do" He said it honestly.

"Then don't you?!"

"I didn't die saving the world, Barry."

"You died saving a woman's life. You should know that there isn't much difference"

Bruce Wayne remained silent.

"You've done it Bruce, you lived the good life, fought the good fight. It's time to put away the cape and the cowl. It's time to rest."

Bruce Wayne stood still, balanced.

"You know, Barry. The last time I saw you alive, you were a wreck. Do you remember that? "

Barry Allen bristled. "Yes. Every moment."

"And look at you know. You're perfectly at peace. You're calm. You're happy. Is death really that restful? That perfect?"

Barry Allen smiled. "Yes."

"Now tell me, Barry. If you had the choice, would you return to life? Would you go back to that cruel world of pain and suffering, in order to help and save and honor your promises?"

Barry Allen's face fell.

"Yes. Yes, I would."

"So how will I, Barry? Help me. Please."

Barry Allen managed a grin.

"You know what's funny, Bruce?"

"Aside from the irony of you once holding the title of being the fastest man alive?"

Barry chuckled, and old friend appreciating an old joke.

"No. it's just that I've never heard you speak this much."

Bruce grinned "Will you help? Tell me how to get back? Tell me where to go, or who to see?"

Barry Allen nodded his head, smiling at Bruce's persistence. He looked down for a brief moment. Quietly, he thought to himself, then he smiled once more. And then he looked at Bruce, and he knew there wasn't anything he could've said or done to begin with anyway.

"Do me a favor, Bruce. Tell Wally I'm proud of him."

Barry Allen began to fade into the darkness.

"And don't worry about the where to go and who to meet. Just keep running, and they'll come to you." He stared at Bruce from head to toe, almost happy that he had failed to convince him to give up the fight. "Good Luck, Bruce."

And with that, he was alone.

In the darkness once more.


	5. Chapter 5

Myth's End

Myth's End

Chapter 5

The Batman stood in awe at the sight before him.

The sands shifted and changed and snaked all around until finally they rested on one form, one face, one man.

Just like before the man was someone The Dark Knight knew. The man's eyes burned with the hate for the evils of mankind. His hair was black and silver in some places. And firmly, he held a sword in his dusty hands.

The sword was beautiful, Arabian forged. Its hilt was that of heavy gold with sprinkles of rubies and sapphire.

"Hello, detective" the man said with his voice, ancient and raspy like it had always been.

"Ra's al Ghul" he whispered to the hot air. He was surprised to see his old adversary alive and well, though he asked himself why this was so considering that Ra's had always found a way to return from the dead.

"You, you're responsible for this?" the Batman asked.

_Could he have been the master mind of all this_, he thought. _He is more than capable of doing this. _

The possibilities raced through the detective's mind as he sought to find the answers. But then, he remembered that Ra's was holding a sword, and so he returned his gaze to the man.

The aging man simply looked at him. There was a small smile that showed itself on his face and the Dark Knight wondered why this was so. Both men held each others gaze for what felt like an eternity. The burning sands lashed against their faces as they stood in silence waiting for something to happen.

Finally, Ra's al Ghul spoke, "Many times we have faced each other detective. And many times you have faltered my plans. But in those moments it was I who controlled the chess pieces."

"And now?" the cloaked figure asked, hoping to get a straight answer from the Demon's Head.

"Now, I am just a pawn. Both of us are pawns, but the difference is that I have mission."

Batman was becoming impatient, "Enough with your riddles Ra's!"

"Very well then, I am here to save you, Mr. Wayne."

Batman almost laughed at the man's response_. What could have led this man to believe I am in need of saving. _"I don't need saving."

"Don't you, detective?" Ra's began to slowly walk around the dark knight. He grinded his sword to the ground as he went, leaving behind a circle around the Dark Knight Detective.

This did not go unnoticed. Under his cape Batman held a batarang ready in case Ra's tried to go for a surprise attack.

For a second time Ra's circled him with his sword still to the ground. This time however, as Ra's passed trees began to sprout.

They were old and withered when they came. Their barks were black like ebony, and their branches were sharp and unforgiving.

Still unfinished with his work, the Demon's head began to speak. "Night after night detective, you go out into the streets of Gotham and you save these souls. But have you ever actually taken the time to know the people you save. Souls unworthy of salvation, that's what they are. And you are a fool to try and save them. That is what I am here to save you from."

Batman felt sick inside. They had been through this before that Gotham was, in fact, worth saving.

"Gotham is worth saving." He said it like it was the undisputed truth.

"You are wrong detective!" Ra's shrieked at the top of his voice.

In that moment, the sky was set on fire, clouds were engulfed in orange flames, and balls of hot ash and smoke were hurled to the earth. The dry earth began to be set ablaze like there was oil just underneath the crumbling surface.

Batman had thought that it looked very much like the end of the world, like hell.

The fires began to spread across the land and they followed the cracks on the dry earth to the old trees. In an instant, they too were in flames. Their branches cracked and crackled under the extreme heat. And they waved around to the blowing wind, sending small embers to the air.

The heat was unbearable. Under his cowl, the Bat was being cooked alive. He held his hand up to his face for the smoke made his eyes water.

Beyond all the heat and destruction, Batman could see Ra's al Ghul in the distance, properly folding his green tunic then neatly placed them on the ground. He seemed unaffected by the chaos ensuing around him.

The Dark Knight collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The fires consumed the air around him.

Ra's al Ghul walked up to him this time holding two swords in his hand.

"Get up" he said as he stuck one to the ground. "I will show you the type of people you save."

Slowly, the batman picked himself back up with some help from the sword he had just been handed. Now, he was kneeling on the brown sands still gasping for air, but gradually he was able to feel his breathe returning.

He held the sword in his hands. One hand held the blade while the other held the hilt. It was very much similar to Ra's al Ghul's blade only it was in a darker color. Instead of gold, it had some sort of black metal.

"Stand up!" commanded Ra's as he came down on the batman with his weapon.

Almost instinctively, the Dark Knight raised his sword over his head horizontally, just in time to block the incoming shot.

Ra's jumped back and quickly got onto a fighting stance.

"Look around you detective and see the people of Gotham." With a hand gesture, the burning trees erupted, then the flames were calmed and they took shape, faces of various men and women. They showed the evil deeds of those who reside in Gotham, and their protector saw all of them. He saw the rapists, the sadists. He saw the psychopaths and the murderers.

Ra's al Ghul raised both hands up to the burning heavens and shouted, "These are the people you save!"

Bruce held the sword in front of him with both hands, and Ra's did the same in response.

Both men kicked off the brown sand and charged at one another. Their swords clashed and clanged, and sparks flew every time their blades would meet.

Shadows of an epic battle were cast upon the ground and trees and sky. They would lock blades on occasion, but would almost immediately push each other away after a quick glare into each other's eyes.

The images were distracting the dark knight even if he knew they shouldn't have been able to. They were just images untrue, images of his enemies.

"These people," he began. "These aren't the people I protect. These are the people I fight against, the ones I promised that I would rid the city of."

"Is that so?" Ra's said sarcastically. "You are truly blind, Mr. Wayne, truly."

Again, the burning trees began to change and dance and shift and twirl in their place. A face of a woman emerged from the red and orange element.

"That woman…"

"Yes, Mr. Wayne. You are as perceptive as always." The former leader of the League of Assassins approached the man in black. "You remember her. You saved her life tonight. But did you stop to ask as to why those men were attacking her?"

Before his eyes, the fires revealed her secrets.

"Yes, you see? They were after her because she was a murderer and a thief. She killed her own boyfriend for a few bucks. Now, would you have known that, detective?"

Bruce's head began to ache.

"Did you take her to jail for her sins?"

"I couldn't have. I was shot and…" he tried to reason.

"Even if you weren't, would you have known or would you have told her that she was safe now and that everything would be better?" Ra's al Ghul began to smile. "Gotham is a cesspool. Everyone in that city deserves to die." His voice was slowly losing volume until it was just a whisper. "How many of the people you saved were like her detective? How many?"

The batman tried to push him away, but Ra's swiftly pulled a dagger from his belt and stabbed the Dark Knight in the leg.

"Gotham should be allowed to rot. Even God had the common sense to burn Sodom and Gomorra to the ground."

With these words in his ears, Batman pulled the dagger out of his leg.

The trees continued to show images of Gotham and its people.

"Ra's" he said in a voice now weak from the loss of blood from his leg and in need of air. "Gotham is still worth saving. It's worth saving because I know there are good people in that city." He struggled to continue what he was saying.

One by one, the visions in the fires changed into something pleasant. They showed children playing happily.

"It's worth saving because there are good people who strive to have a better future." The images changed to Batman's allies, Nightwing, Robin and many others.

"It's worth saving because there are those who still hope for the future." The visions changed to a few of the police officers in GCPD, to Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock…..to Jim Gordon.

"You are a fool!" Ra's al Ghul lunged at the crouched Batman with his sword drawn.

With the last ounce of his strength, the Dark Knight Detective spun around to avoid the attack, catching Ra's on the side with the dagger in his hand.

The ancient man fell to the ground in pain only to receive a stab to the back.

Ra's al Ghul's eyes bulged out in surprise at his defeat.

"Well played detective, well played." Was all he could say before dropping face first to the ground where the winds and the sands ate his body whole.

The Batman meanwhile was left alone in that desert with no strength left in his body. And so he simply allowed the sands to wash over his face for there was nothing else to do.


End file.
